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Rab MacWilliam's account of Newington Green's history in the last
issue of N16 was fascinating until the final paragraph. There he mentioned the Green's
vibrancy and upsurge in new businesses, shops and services. Funny, I thought, the place
must have been transformed during the summer and I wandered across to investigate but
alas, nothing had changed. It was just as noisy, shabby and tired as it has ever been.
Perhaps Rab, like so many others, had been seduced by its promise and allure. I have lived
nearby for five years and there's always been a sense, mostly among property owners, that
Newington Green was on its way up. However, it has resolutely refused to move, either up
or down. There's a kind of malaise spread over it which, despite periodic bouts of
optimism, refuses to go away. Vaguely fashionable shops arrive, soldier on for a while and
then pack up and leave.
Hanging Space, the art gallery, survived for a year before finally realising that there
was only limited cool to be had from dragging clients out to an anonymous patch of North
London and sold up to a hairdresser's. The old and fondly remembered Jazz Cafe has gone
through numerous reincarnations in the past few years but they all seem to struggle before
finally folding.
So, what is wrong? A good place to start is the Green itself or, as the Department of
Transport's road maps prefer to call it, the roundabout. The traffic is non-stop and has
turned the Green into an island cut off from surrounding streets. It is hardly a place to
spend an idle moment or somewhere to send the kids to play and is a far cry from the
picture of idyllic calm shown in photographs of a hundred years ago.
 Even those who brave the traffic are met with a sight that has
obviously seen better days. As a piece of border territory the Green is not a big priority
for Islington Council and for years maintenance has meant just that - pruning the rose
bushes, trimming the cherry trees, picking up the litter, cutting the grass. There has
been no shrub or flower planting, filling of potholes or, God forbid, investment. The
amazing thing is how attractive it still looks despite the neglect.
The biggest problem, however, especially in local perceptions of the Green, is the colony
of winos that has taken up residence. It seems to be a magnet for daytime drinkers from
far and wide. They like the screens of bushes and the lack of disturbance. It can be fun
to watch them, especially as a select few have developed sophisticated over-theshoulder
throwing techniques with their beer cans and compete in trying to hit passing cars, but
the novelty soon fades.
The state of the Green is reflected in the surrounding square. Many of the shops look
resolutely downbeat, even seedy, and add to the depressed and off-putting atmosphere.
There is also the epidemic of dumped rubbish. This means not just black bags or fast food
cartons but major items of household furniture, tipped out of the front door and left, as
if they will disappear by osmosis. On some mornings the pavements look like the aftermath
of a looting spree: washing machines, mattresses, photocopier racks, microwaves and much
more.
Hence the image problem. Even if it was converted tomorrow into a plush, pedestrianised
urban oasis with fountains and juice bars, Newington Green would still take ages before it
was accepted back into the bosom of NI6-ers. My friends give it a wide berth when they
need an open air stroll or a place to push the kid's buggy and head instead up to Clissold
Park.
So what's to be done? 'Tea on the Green' in September, organised by the Newington Green
Action Group, showed, with its marquees and music, what the Green could be, a centre of
attraction for the surrounding community. It would be nice to believe that it is able to
play that role. At some point not too long ago it was, after all, Newington's village
green. Perhaps it can come to act as the same sort of social catalyst today, given time
and effort, but somehow I think it is going to be a long, hard slog.
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